| Documentary Film |
Published: 10 January, 2009 |
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New documentary takes a fresh look at breast implant safety in today’s appearance driven culture.
Despite decades of controversy and potential risks openly acknowledged by the medical community, breast implants are more popular than ever. Last year, nearly 400,000 women in the U.S. got implants. Manufacturers and plastic surgeons made billions. But, amidst this thriving industry, stands a complex story of questionable regulation, limited science, serious risks, and women determined to do anything to have the “perfect” breasts. Do women getting implants know about the risks? Do they have “informed consent?”
At its heart, ABSOLUTELY SAFE is driven by the experience of filmmaker Carol Ciancutti-Leyva’s own mother. Diagnosed with breast tumors, Audrey Ciancutti underwent a double mastectomy with silicone implant reconstruction. A year later her implants ruptured, and soon after, her health steadily declined. Like thousands of other women with breast implants, Audrey believes that her debilitating illnesses—chronic fatigue, joint pain, burning sensations—are linked to her breast implants. However, most doctors deny this link. Through the voices of everyday women like Audrey, plastic surgeons, FDA officials, and outspoken scientists, the film not only leads a captivating journey through the breast implant safety debate, but also sheds light on the grip appearance has in our culture.
ABSOLUTELY SAFE is set around the stories of two young women who are making opposite choices—Deneé who is getting breast implants and Wendi who is getting her implants removed.
ABSOLUTELY SAFE documents the twists and turns of the FDA approval process of silicone breast implants. Today, serious questions have emerged about the FDA’s medical device’s advisory committee and possible corruption. On November 17th, the New York Times reported that government scientists have written a formal letter accusing top federal health officials of “serious misconduct” by ignoring the concerns of scientists during the approval of medical devices. Breast implants are regulated as medical devices and these allegations raise potentially alarming questions about the science behind FDA approval and the safety of breast implants.
With the FDA approval of silicone breast implants in 2006, the discussion of breast implant safety seems to no longer exist. Every woman’s magazine is full of columns and ads about implants and women looking and feeling better about themselves. Rarely, is it ever discussed that these devices carry known and unknown risks. The fine print on the back of those ads is being lost or being ignored. In age of big Pharma and big business, ABSOLUTELY SAFE navigates this tangled intersection of health, money, science, and beauty.
ABSOLUTELY SAFE sparks this long overdue cultural conversation. Carol Cianetti-Leyva, an active advocate for women’s health and rights, also posts at Alive Mind Woman where the conversation extends beyond the film to issues regarding government policy, media and gender roles.
“[ABSOLUTELY SAFE] is the perfect antidote to ads and TV shows that now routinely mislead women into thinking that these devices have been proven to be safe.”–Judy Norsigian, co-author and Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves
Exclusively available from Alive Mind, ABSOLUTELY SAFE will be available direct to consumer on December 15th. Alive Mind is proud to support Our Bodies, Ourselves with a $3 donation from each purchase of ABSOLUTELY SAFE throughout December. Because every woman has the right to make an informed decision about her body.
Absolutely Safe DVD
Street Date: November 21, 2008
Suggested Retail Price: $24.98 (DVD)
DVD Catalogue #: ALV-DV-17
Genre: Documentary
Rated: NR
Feature Run Time: 83 minutes
DVD Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Region: NTSC Region 0
Audio: Dolby Digital
Production Year: 2008
Languages: English |
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